Unilever announced its 2023 H1 and Q2 performance on July 25 showing revenue of 30.4 billion euros (US$34 billion, 238.49 billion yuan) and a 3.3 percent rise in operating profit to 5.2 billion euros.
Unilever is recovering in China, with 7.9-percent sales-driven growth in H1. The ice cream business did especially well. This year, Unilever plans to launch over 20 new ice creams, including Wall’s, through a 100-million-euro factory in Jiangsu Province.
Unilever’s food planning business also thrived due to the return of dining out in China.
The company has shifted towards short-video e-commerce, using live streaming for its food planning business.
Unilever’s sales growth exceeded expectations, leading to a 5 percent stock price increase after the financial report. New CEO Hein Schumacher raised the full-year outlook slightly, predicting revenue growth to exceed 5 percent, while analysts estimated around 6.1 percent.
